St. John was born in the town of Pomuk (later Nepomuk) in Bohemia around the year 1340. After being cured of a childhood disease through the prayer of his parents, John studied for the priesthood in Prague and Padua. After ordination, he was assigned to a parish in Prague where he gained a reputation as a great preacher. King Wenceslaus IV heard of him and invited him to become the confessor for the royal court around the year 1379. In 1393, the king asked what his beautiful wife had confessed, but John would not reveal her confession despite the king’s attempted bribes and actual torture. Finally, the king had him burned, tied to a wheel, and thrown off a bridge into a river. His body was found the next day, and he was immediately revered as a saint. He was canonized in 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII.